How To Sprint Like Mark Cavendish – Cav's Top 5 Sprinting Tips

Mark Cavendish – possibly the greatest sprinter of all time – took some time out from his busy schedule to share his top sprinting tips.

Want to improve your sprinting? Check out this video.

Mark Cavendish has, to date, over 130 pro wins to his name including a world title, stages in all three Grand Tours and victory in Milan-San Remo. So, there is no-one better to bring you up to speed on sprinting.

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Music: Brontide - Cabin
Dexters - Never A Right Time (Instrumental)
The Talks - Ceasefire (Instrumental)

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[sethcrozier]

Dan trying to sprint with Cav looks like a newborn giraffe trying to outrun a cheetah.

[dimsim]

Good thing dan counted down till he started his sprint or I wouldn't have been sure when it started

[Naturalhighz]

I once heard a sprinting advice from Sean Kelly on eurosport during the tour I believe it was. He said that if you know you are going to crash during a sprint, throw your bike one way and yourself the other to take down as much of the competition as possible.

Might have been a joke though ;)

[lioncohen]

do "how to climb as a sprinter" and "how to sprint as a climber"

[lourdoftherings]

Watched this from the future (Tour de France 2021). 5 years after and this is still relevant! Mark Cavendish rewriting history books at TDF🔥

[TMCRacing]

Had the pleasure of watching mark train on the velodrome in Manchester a few months back this vid doesn't do the sheer amount of acceleration he has justice. His coach shouted go before the go sound had finished he'd exploded and was half way round the track. It's insane.

[njh]

This has been the most useful video for me you've ever done GCN!

Yew!

[MikeBritton]

One of the best videos yet. I've never seen Cav do an on-bike tutorial like that. The camera angles were perfect, too.

[anibaljesusdelgadillo]

"...bring the bike to your feet, not the feet to the bike..." That is a great tip.

[startconfident]

Easily my best “how to” so far from GCN. Like Dan, I'm a skinny climber; but I live in a relatively flat area where many races are decided by sprints. When I fail to instigate or get away with a break, I need to put in solid digs. And there's a surprising dearth of good sprint information on the interwebs. Thanks Cav for being such a gentleman, and Dan for being such a good sport.

[spanishjapan]

How to sprint like Cavendish:

You don't.

You don't sprint like Cavendish.

[briansteele]

Loved the random bloke in the background keeping up. Thanks for the vid, I have a bad habit of sprinting on the hoods as the bars are set up wrong on my bike.. but will try the tips soon.

[daniel]

He got lucky, you'll beat him next time.

[yoda]

There's a Cervelo in this video. And Dan Lloyd. But I'm not gonna make that joke. That would be a bit Testy. Bad for Team morale.

[ricardoneto]

DRINK GAME:

Everytime Cavendish says "You know" - TAKE A SHOT!!

[danieloldfield]

Watched this video mid week and got my first bunch sprint win the next race. Thanks GCN and Mark Cavendish #wattagebomb

[wezibonus]

thank you mark cavendesh its always best to hear it from the pros

[dudeonbike]

The handlebar to the crank or pedal is a really long leverage arm. Alternating up on the bars back and forth against each pedal stroke is using this long lever arm to put more power through the crank arm and to the rear wheel.

The best way to be a better sprinter is through sprinting!

I always worked on two main aspects of sprinting:
1) Very high cadence work in relatively low gearing to improve spin efficiency and top end speed.
2) Repeated full-out sprints on a known section of road. The more you do it, the more you learn about your maximum effort and how long it lasts. Doing this as a team really gives everyone an idea of how they stack up. Nothing replaces in-race conditions, so doing this with a large group will better prepare you for the real thing.

Made this a regular once-a-week routine. It was so nice to do this as a team, as it allows you to work on navigating the peloton, avoiding pitfalls and knowing when and how to go. Once we all did it for a season, we developed excellent pack awareness, got rid of bad habits, which improved our prowess and success in bunch sprints.

Adding a weight-lifting regimen isn't a bad idea either!

Having lots of fast-twitch muscle fibers doesn't hurt either!

[SpicySpokes]

I love it, Cav comes very sympathic, but he isn't always in the competition. Very nice video, for me one of your best one's! I laaaike!

[koshu]

You can't do any of this in the moment without practice. Remembering five tips when you're half mad from lactate burn in the last 100m of a race just won't work. Has to be second nature. So go to an outdoor velodrome or closed road and do some "form sprints", i.e. not full gas but practicing these body position and awareness tips. (For extra fun do this with your mates and practice lead-outs too)